THE DE LAMAR LECTURES. 1925-26. THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY OF HYGIENE AND PUBLIC HEALTH.- -By David Marine and others. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Co. English Agents, Messrs. Bailliere, Tindall & Cox, London. Pp. 220 with 21 text figures. Price, 22s. 6d. net.

The; purpose of these lectures is stated in the fore- word. They are "a series of lectures on personal and public hygiene arranged each session by the School of Hygiene and Public Health of the Johns Hopkins University. The object of these lectures is to bring before the public the general facts and points of view of modern hygiene, with the hope that in this way the School may serve as a centre for the distribution of useful knowledge in all matters pertaining to sanitation and preventive medicine." The lectures were instituted in 1920 and have hitherto

been published in the Johns Hopkins University Journal of Hygiene.

In the present instance however the lectures delivered in 1925-26 have been collected together in an exceedingly well printed and well bound volume. Thirteen lectures are included and present a wide range of subjects. The prevention of goitre, the ^etiology of pellagra,

heliotherapy in the treatment of tuberculosis, industrial toxicology, hookworm surveys, housing and public health, body building and longevity, constitutional types in

disease, and motor vehicle accident prevention, are the subjects of these essays, while, last but not least is a

lecture on William Farr by Sir George Newsholme. The list of subjects indicates the diversity of matter dealt with, and as each subject is treated by one who has made it a special study, it is evident that the book is a valuable j/ummary of up-to-date knowledge and

opinion on many things. It is natural that descriptions and discussions should be mainly of things' American, but the world is getting so cosmopolitan now that differ- ences in modes of life and outlook are not nearly so

great as they used to be. It is interesting for instance to read that the relation of the family physician in the rural parts of the United States has largely changed in recent years. The physician of the family as a wise counsellor and friend has gradually disappeared. The swift ubiquitous and cheap motor car (or automobile rather) has led to the creation of

" doctor firms" in a

central spot within striking distance of many rural towns and villages. We suppose the same process must be going on in. England and Scotland, though we have not seen any attention drawn to' the fact.

It is impossible to summarise the articles, which themselves are up-to-date summaries of the subject

470 THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE. [Aug., 1927.

matter, looked at through American eyes. In the first lecture Dr. David Marine goes whole-heartedly for the prevention of endemic goitre by wide-spread iodine administration. The lecture on industrial toxicology reviews all the

latest work on lead poisoning and draws special atten- tion to the dangers of tetra-ethyl lead, a volatile com- pound used in the enrichment of petrol and gasoline. A new disease has evolved during the last two years, producing necrosis of the type of the old

"

phossy "

jaw. The disease is found in employees in radiolite watch works, and is attributed to alpha ray emanations and zinc sulphide. Many of the industrial poisons of the present day are volatile members of the benzene group and a good description is given of these and of their effects. The fact that many health appointments in the States are political rewards still acts in many places as a distinct deterrent to health progress and to continuity of policy. Hookworm disease is a large and difficult problem in

America and Dr. Smillie gives an excellent resume of the present position there. Light infection produces few bad effects either in the child or the adult, and intensive campaigns should be directed to the areas of heavy infestation: 100 hookworms produce definite mental and physical retardation in the growing child, 1 to 25 worms produce no measurable symptoms. Dr. Smillie places great stress on the type of soil as

influencing the character of the people. Dr. Goldberger states the evidence for and against the

various theories of the causation of pellagra and finishes up strongly in favour of pellagra being a deficiency disease caused by the absence of some p?p factor

(pellagra preventing) contained in yeast extract and

lean beef. Dr. Stockard, in an interesting chapter on constitution

and types in relation to disease, sums up the human race broadly into old or sedentary races residing near the coast (the linear or high thyroid type), and mid-con- tinental people far removed from the sea and the source of iodine (with more rounded heads and the physio- logically low thyroid or lateral type). American

phraseology has several features of its own and some sentences have to be read twice to get at their meaning. How many of our readers will realise at once what "

up-cases of tuberculosis" are? Perhaps it was a merely racial bias which made the

reading of the chapter on William Farr by Sir George Newsholme the most enjoyable in the book. Few of us ourselves realise fully the part played by Farr in

laying the foundation of public health administration. " It was by Farr's life work that vital statistics in

England assumed the supremely important role in the

promotion of public health reform, and England set an example to many other countries by initiating means

for measuring the chief events of life, for ascertaining their local incidence, and thus enabling action to be taken on accurately ascertained facts." The lecture is an

admirable exposition of the meaning and importance of Farr's life and work. A word about the get up of the book. The publishers

introduce a novel feature by giving at the end a list of all their workers responsible for the printing and

production. The motto of the firm satis tache might suitably (or unsuitably) be copied by some publishing firms of India.

A. D. S.